Japanese games firm Sega, the subject of endless merger speculation, has turned its back on two takeover proposals on the same day.

It called an end to talks for a merger with Sammy, a company that makes machines for pachinko, a Japanese version of pinball.

And just hours later, it rebuffed a takeover offer from Namco, a rival in the video games market.

The decisions leave Sega's future in question, as the search continues for partners to help bolster its flagging finances.

Sega, which lost 17.8bn yen (£96m; $149m) last year, is currently studying a takeover offer from computer game rival Namco, and has been rumoured as a merger partner for a long list of other firms, including Microsoft and US games maker Electronic Arts.

Different games

A deal between Sega and Sammy had long looked tricky to bring to completion.

The two firms are in different markets: while Sega focuses on computer games, Sammy produces machines for pachinko, Japan's popular version of pinball.

Pachinko has proved a profitable business - Sammy earned 23.9bn yen last year - but it is no longer growing, as young players prefer video games to pinball parlours.

Sammy had hoped to use its pachinko cash to buy a niche in the computer games market, but the two firms have been unable to agree terms.

Partner snubbed

The failure to agree terms with Namco has not yet been explained; most analysts had thought the two firms natural partners.

In a statement, Namco said only that Sega had told them it "was not in a situation to give a specific answer to the proposal".

Sega, once one of the leaders of the video games market, has seen its reputation - and financial position - suffer in recent years.

It has moved out of games console manufacturing to concentrate on software, but is seen as struggling to compete in a market increasingly dominated by Microsoft and Japan's Nintendo and Sony.